In The News

This Site

TIDBITS by RALPH SHEALY

HAVING FUN, YET?

WalletHub recently released its ranking of the most fun states in America. You all will be ”happy” to know South Carolina ranks 19th in the country, just behind North Carolina. I guess the Tar Heel state is more fun because it has ski resorts and Andy Griffith’s hometown, Mt. Airy. Many factors went into determining what makes states fun. South Carolina ranked: 18th – Restaurants per capita 12th – Golf Courses & Country Clubs per capita 15th – Amusement Parks per capita 24th – Performing-Arts Theaters per capita 27th – Fitness Centers per capita (This is fun?) 23rd – Variety of Arts, Entertainment & Recreation Establishments I’ve visited eight of the top 20 fun states, including three of the top four, New York, Nevada and Florida. I have not visited number one California. Some of the states ranked ahead of S.C., I’ve never considered fun, like Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan. Washington is actually the sixth most fun state in the land. I’ve never been to any of those states, so I can’t really judge fairly. You may be interested to know that S.C. is more fun than Tennessee (23) and Georgia (26). Here’s a real shocker, South Dakota (24) is more fun than Hawaii (28). I think, given a choice, however, most Americans would rather have fun in Hawaii, despite the rankings. There is very little surfing at Mt. Rushmore, I am told. I know you all want to know the least fun states so you can avoid them like the plague. Here we go: 41, Kansas. This is why Dorothy travelled to Oz, I guess. 42. Kentucky. Despite the Derby, this is what they get for beating Carolina in football the last four years. 43. Montana. Montana is five times bigger that South Carolina, but has one fifth the population. 44. Alabama. National football championships are only fun to the local citizens. 45. Vermont. The state that gave us of “Mr. Excitement” Bernie Sanders. 46. Arkansas. The state that propelled Bill and Hillary into the spotlight. 47. Rhode Island. Little. You could put 145 Rhode Islands in Montana, still neither of them would be fun. 48, Delaware. Mostly banks, if what I saw from train window is any indication. 49. Mississippi. I’ve spent the night in Tupelo (birthplace of Elvis), and Biloxi, and I thought both towns were fun. And here it is, the least fun state in the United States of America. I have several Saluda County friends who are from this state, and I am sorry, but the booby prize goes to “Almost Heaven” West Virginia. Saluda native Marai Wise lives in West Virginia and posts pictures regularly on Facebook, and the part of the state where she lives is absolutely beautiful, and it looks like she’s having fun. I’m just glad a list exists that has the Palmetto State among the leaders for a change.

GOOD OLD DAYS?

Years ago, people were talking about the “good old days” at Calk’s Store. “Good old days, heck! (or something like that),” my Uncle Alton Shealy said. “There was no electricity, no running water, and we had to work in the cotton fields from sun up to sunset. Those weren’t good old days!” As we do every Mother’s Day, the descendants of Rufus and Eugenia Herlong Shealy got together Sunday, and once again the memories flowed. Like last year, we met at Emory School, where all seven children of Rufus and Eugenia got the bulk of their education. Sunday was unseasonably hot and the old school house has no air conditioning. Windows and doors were opened, fans were turned on to circulate air, like in the good old days, except when many of the children in the Emory community went to school, they did not have the use of fans, because electricity did not come to that section of Saluda County until 1937. My Daddy Shake would have been 11 and Uncle Alton would have been 23! Can you imagine going without electricity until you were 23 years old??? No wonder he didn’t care for the good old days. I remember hearing them talking about using a Delco battery to power a radio, so they weren’t completely out of the communication loop. I am a generation away from no electricity! Telephones did not come to our section of the county until 1957. I was six year old. I am not talking about cell phones, young people, I talking about telephones with a rotary dial. All the school kids today have not lived in a time when there were no cell phones. What are going to be their “good old days?” We are spoiled by conveniences. Daddy bought a new 1967 Plymouth with no air, then ordered some of those clear plastic Fingerhut seat covers to protect the new cloth seats. You haven’t lived until you sit down on hot plastic seats that have been baking in the 100 degree July sun. Daddy kept that car one year, and traded for one with air conditioning. The air conditoned spoiling began. For most of my teenage years, our house also did not have air con-ditioning. I’ve written before, the first AC unit in our house was a 25,000 BTU monster that cooled the entire house. It was put in a window in my and Jamie’s room. It was like sleeping in an igloo.

JINX

I wrote last week that the Carolina baseball team was one of the hottest teams in America. They then proceeded to lose three straight games, including a loss the College of Charleston, coached by former Gamecock coach Chad Holbrook. Sportswriter David Cloniger wrote it speaks volumes that Holbrook’s new team beat a team he recruited 9-0. The Gamecocks recovered to win their last two games against Mizzou to win their fourth straight series, so that’s all I’m going to say.